“It’s a chance to honor and celebrate our tradition,” Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said. “Anytime you have that type of tradition, we want to make sure to honor it. It’s something people are aware of them, obviously, but they can come and take pictures of them. And that’s how you build tradition. You go to a lot of schools that have several Heisman Trophy winners and they have displays, they have statutes what have you. It’s just building tradition and honoring three very special people.”

Work has already begun, but it’s not supposed to be finished until after the start of the 2010 season. I imagine that it will be located near the Florida Gator Football Experience at the stadium.

Building a statue of great players and coaches is not something out of the ordinary. Texas has a statue of Earl Campbell, Chicago has a statue of Jordan, Camden Yards has one of Babe Ruth.

What are your thoughts on Florida building a Tim Tebow statue outside the stadium?

The knock on Tim going into the NFL Draft is his mechanics and throwing motion. He used to bring the ball way down by his hip, launch the ball side arm and then kick his foot. It was really weird, but worked at UF so the coaches weren’t pressured to change it. Now, Tim has been working for months to fix his entire throwing motion. He’ll have every opportunity to impress the scouts today. Tim will be throwing on his home field, he’ll be throwing to players he knows and they’ll be running planned routes. A good showing today could boost his draft stock dramatically.

Viewing for the on-field portion of this event, which will begin at approximately 10 a.m., is open to the public with free admission. Fans will be able to enter the stadium through Gate 2, which will open at 8:30 a.m. I went to two Pro Days while I was a student at Florida and there were basically like 100 people there in the stands watching. I can’t wait to see how many people show up to watch Tim. The ESPN and other sporting news vans are all going to be there. It’s the biggest Pro Day in the history of college football.

We will have pictures and video of the event later today or tomorrow morning. If you are there and would like to submit pictures please contact us and I’ll gladly post it.

I have a great feeling that Tim is going to completely WOW everyone today. What do you think?

“We look at our team as like a family, and we just wanted what was best for our dad, and that’s coach Meyer,” Tebow said. “We want him to do what’s best for him. We want him to get himself right, and when he’s right, then come back to coaching.”

When Meyer initially told the players that he was going to resign, a group of them got together to pray in support of Urban. He’s been suffering from chest pains and has a heart condition that he wouldn’t really get into.

Urban will coach the Sugar Bowl this week, so his decision to name offensive coordinator Steve Addazio the interim head coach won’t really affect Tim Tebow. After the conclusion of the Sugar Bowl, Tim’s duties on the football field at UF are officially over.

Mark Ingram, the Alabama running back that scorched the Gators in the SEC Championship Game, won the 2009 Heisman by only 28 total votes – the closest margin in history.

Tim Tebow became the first player in history to be invited to New York City for the Heisman presentation three times. That’s truly a remarkable feat in itself – knowing that he played his entire career as a starter at the Heisman level.

The Gainesville Sun has a good recap of the event.

UF changed things this year to prevent professional autograph sellers from taking over. They limited lines when they got too long and they only allowed players to sign official school posters. No jerseys or footballs (which are hot items on eBay).

I’m looking for pictures and stories from people who went to the event. If you have any, please send them to webmaster@tebowzone.com and I’d love to post them here for the Tebow fans to see.

“I’m excited,” Tebow said. “I can’t wait to play. It’s that time where you’re just like, ‘Man, hurry up.’ I love training, I love lifting and everything but let’s go put on the pads. Let’s go play. I’m excited. I’ve never been this excited about two-a-days in my life before.”

Practices today and tomorrow are open to the public, so if you’re in the area head down there and check him out. I went last year to a practice on August 5th and Tebow was there signing autographs on his way to the practice field.

The receiver position was one of Florida’s main concerns this spring. The Gators lost their top two wideouts, Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy, after beating Oklahoma in the national title game in January and weren’t sure who would replace them. But Hammond, Deonte Thompson (four catches for 44 yards), Carl Moore (two for 49) and T.J. Lawrence (five for 59) looked to be capable pass-catchers.

“We do have guys,” Tebow said. “There’s a lot of different guys. There’s no one guy. It’s a lot of guys competing for the ball, competing for catches. I think that’s great because it’s going to make these guys work really hard this summer.”

Tebow only played the first half and was 7-of-9 passing for 81 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. He also ran three times for 21 yards.

I will be interesting to see who steps up to become Tebow’s No. 1 target down the field. With the loss of Harvin and Murphy, guys like Deonte Thompson and Carl Moore can step up.

From Deadspin.com

This monument will stand as an eternal testament to Earth’s greatest human and 500,000 years from now, when alien archeologists dig up this everlasting tribute from the watery ruins of our failed civilization, even they will understand the true meaning of perseverance and fortitude.

But I guess the people closest to him knew something else.

“He actually texted me yesterday morning and said, ‘Pray for me, I’m about to make some life-changing decisions,’” said Nelson after Florida’s national championship celebration at The Swamp Sunday afternoon. “When he sent me that, it kind of hit me that he might be leaving … he might be going.”

“I thought all along he would come back,” Nelson said. “He loves this university. He loves playing for Florida. He loves everything about being a college athlete. I never really got too worried until I saw that text message.”

Tim is already a legend at Florida and in NCAA history. If he wins another Heisman or National Championship, there won’t be an argument about who the greatest college player of all-time is… It will be Tim Tebow.

I’d be lying if I said Tebow’s first half performance didn’t scare me. He threw two interceptions and was missing players downfield. I’m not sure if he was overly excited or nervous? Maybe it just took him a few drives to settle down and find his rhythm.

Tebow was named the game’s most outstanding player. He finished 18 of 30 for 231 yards passing and two touchdowns with two interceptions and 109 yards rushing. “I am just so proud of my teammates because they kept fighting for four quarters,” Tebow said. As he accepted the MVP trophy, Gators fans chanted, “One more year!” encouraging their quarterback to return for his senior season.

“I have a big decision to make. But I love being here. It definitely won’t be a bad thing if I come back, that’s for sure,” he said. At halftime, he told Meyer he wanted to run the ball more, and in the third quarter he did just that. “I was trying to come out here and play with everything I had,” Tebow said. “I was just trying to get us some momentum. We needed to get the crowd excited,” he said of his bruising runs and the exuberance that followed.

Last night’s victory solidified Tim Tebow’s legacy as a Florida Gator and college football player. It may have just put him at the top of the list of the best players in history. “I wanted to leave nothing on that field,” Tebow said. Well Tim, I can say without any doubt that you did just that. In fact, since his loss to Ole Miss and the famous press conference, Tim has lived up to every word he said.

Congratulations Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators on a BCS National Championship!

James Lang / US Presswire

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